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Megan Cobb is FriedOkra

A native Southerner gone astray, Megan serves up laughter and inspiration as she shares her meandering thoughts on marriage, parenting, style, food - and pretty much whatever else comes to mind - in words and pictures.

Up for a little girl-time on the front porch? You bring the wine, I'll bring the off-topic parenthetical asides.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

"Ho, ho, but no matter. Christmas was on its way. Lovely, glorious, beautiful Christmas, upon which the entire kid year revolved."

Can you name that quote?-----------------

Only a week 'til Christmas y'all.

SWEAT SWEAT SWEAT.

I apologize for all the heavy-on-the-pictures posts lately, but it seems like my brain's a wee mite more occupied than usual this week what with all the bakin' and shoppin' and wrappin' and snowblowin'.

Oh and also, I have apparently, unbeknownst even to myself, started takin' in other people's laundry.

Because all of this surely can't be just ours.

Here's our Christmas tree this year. I have a long-winded and ridiculous story that goes along with the tree, but I'll tell it to you later.

I just decorate our tree with the ornaments we've all collected over the years. For a year or two while I was single and, you know, URBAN or whatever, I did that whole themed-tree thing. But it never felt quite like CHRISTMAS-Christmas without all my mismatched but meaningful decorations. I love how they each evoke a memory, and I treasure how they work together with my plain old strings of wooden beads to make a simple but homey centerpiece in my family room. Maybe one day I'll want a more formal tree. Maybe. But for now, our life here is the furthest thing from formal, so why have a tree that doesn't fit where we are lifewise?

Anyway, here are a few of my favorite ornaments, in no particular order.

What's Christmas without a Radio Flyer piloted by a gift-bearin' bear?

It's just any other day, is what it is!

I have two of these sweet little red mittens. They're both lefties. Like all the other sets of mittens in our house seem to end up, for some reason.

I made these little cardinals. I think I have 15 of them. Made 'em before I knew I'd ever live in Illinois, where, as good fortune would have it, the state bird is? Anyone? Anyone?

Yep. The cardinal!

Bean's Sissy and Buddy went out shopping with their Dad on Christmas Eve, back when Bean was a couple of months old, and they came back bearing this little stocking for her, with her name on it. THEY WERE SO PLEASED WITH THEMSELVES. I love to remember the moment they held it up for my inspection, breathless with excitement, and how much it meant to me that they'd wanted to get it for their new baby sister. It's just a little stocking, but it just tugs at my little heartstrings when I look at it.

Someday, please Lord, may I live in this little cottage? Please? Oh, how I love me a Tudor. A snowcovered, cozy little Tudor cottage. That ornament? Is my dreamhouse.

And lastly, I wanted to close the proverbial loop and show y'all our little family train, now complete with its caboose, just as the FriedOkra family is complete with OUR little caboose, Mr. Peanutty Nut, sweet baby Mafew.

Thanks for all the lovely compliments about the pictures of our kiddos. I'll post the winning Christmas card photo sometime next week, after I've actually managed to send out the Christmas cards.

Bean's name is Alexis? Pretty name but I just can't think of her as anything but Bean. :)

We have an ornament of a teddy bear riding a crayon raft with a sail. Very cute and one of my first ornaments as a kid. My husband has one of a penguin pouring hershey's syrup into a cup of hot chocolate. These are my favorites. And all the snowmen ones that have my name and ones that my have my husband's on them. My mom buys us new ones every year.

I love the mis-match trees! My MIL's tree drives me crazy! She moves things after the kids decorate it, and adds more. I love having the kids look at each ornament "remember when we did...". It is the best part for me.

I love your tree though! My tree is like that too! I love all the ornaments I've collected over the years. My mom bought us one every year too so we would have a collection of our own when were old enough. I don't have enough for a full tree so I did buy some red, white, and red and white stripped balls last year to fill in the gaps.

No tree this year though...money is too tight. Thankfully my daughter is only 1 and won't remember the lack of a tree.

I'm pretty sure that it's from "A Christmas Story" .... I just hung our miniature version of the MAJOR AWARD on the tree yesterday. My sister-in-law is threatening to buy the full-sized version for her brother (my husband) next year. And guess what, I have a window that it would go in perfectly. Yeehaw!

Sounds like "A Christmas Story" - my husband loves that movie! After going to an ornament party last night and hearing about everyone's themed trees, I feel a little better that I am not the only ones with mismatched ornaments. ;)

I'm with you, I couldn't do a themed tree. What's the point of storing all those half broken ornaments all year long if I don't get to display their sentimental little selves at least for a few weeks? Not that we actually had a tree this year. But usually...

I love the informal trees! That's how mine is, full of handmade ornaments from the kids and kid friendly store bought ones. One tradition that we have is I buy each of my kids a new ornament every year, and after 4 kids ages from 12 to 3, that means ALOT of ornaments and I LOVE it!!!